Sunday, July 21, 2013

Dining Out on Cape Cod - Green Lotus Café

RAWCO - Green Lotus Café

I was so excited to learn that a new vegan-friendly restaurant was opening on Cape Cod. With very limited options for vegan dining, it was a smart move for the owner to open up shop. Nate grew up on the Cape and spent time in the Marines. Living in San Diego he learned of the health benefits with the vegan diet. He moved back to the Cape and opened Green Lotus Café in Hyannis in March 2013. You can read more on his background here.

RAWCO Sandwich

The menu is entirely vegetarian, with vegan, gluten-free, and raw options available. All sandwiches can be made vegan with Daiya cheese and non-dairy mayo substitutions. With so many options it's difficult to make a decision, but I asked the staff what the popular sandwiches were and settled on the RAWCO. Raw foods usually come at a premium since the ingredients are more expensive, but I felt pretty good about paying $9.49 for this all raw sandwich - it's seasoned ground walnuts (that resembles ground beef like a taco filling), raw cashew cheese sauce, avocado, tomato, lettuce, and red onion served on crispy organic corn tortilla bread. It was delicious and very filling. If you've never had raw bread before, it's thin like a cracker and chewy, but it does its job at holding a sandwich together. The sandwich was a little too salty, but overall the taste and texture were pleasing, and I would be quick to order it again. My non-vegan boyfriend got the Roast Seitan, which comes with real cheese, but can be substituted to make it vegan. He admitted that it was really good. Soups and smoothies are also on the menu, along with a vegan-friendly breakfast menu. They also offer vegan desserts, which vary by day. There were two types of cookies when I was there.

I have a lot of sandwiches to get through to try them all, but I'm happy to report that my first visit was a success and I will be back for sure!

Sandwich Menu - Green Lotus Café

Sandwich Menu Continued! - Green Lotus Café

Visit their very active Facebook page for updates on daily specials and what's cooking (or not, if it's raw!) in the kitchen.